Time announcing system



2 Sheets-Sheet l E. S. PETERSON TIME ANNOUNCING SYSTEM lllll I L. n v H man im Q .6m 8m .08 mm mm m u wow wow mom Now mm m o a o o o o E T QQN 0O MP A ll. S wow .Na m A W m 5. m n w fi wi b6 1 9 en. 1 g N2 2 mg ii I E Emma 25 8. t m .09 mm? B o2 .02

Jan. 1, 1957 Filed Feb. 13, 1951 Jan. 1, 1957 E. s. PETERSCDN TIME ANNOUNCING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 13, 195] INVENTOR. EDWARD S. PETERSON m OE m9 mg 31 m8 m8 twm ATTORNEY POWER LINE United States Patent 2,776,341 TIME ANNQUNCING SYSTEM Edward S. Peterson, Elmwood Park, 131., assignor to Automatic Electric Laboratories, lino, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application February 13, 1951, 'Serial No. 210,733

14 Claims. (Cl. 179-4002) The present invention relates in general to sound reproducing systems utilized for making periodic announcements .at predetermined times such as in time of .day announcement service for telephone subscribers and spot announcements for radio broadcasting stations and more particularly to improvements made in the time announcing system shown in Patent No. 2,530,076 issued November 14, 1950, to Edward S. Peterson entitled Time Announcing System.

The system disclosed in the above cited patent comprises a film or tape on which are magnetically recorded time announcements in six parallel announcement sound tracks which run in alternately opposite directions and also control signals in a seventh parallel sound track. A single reproducer head is used to pick up the time announcements, the head being shiftable from one announcement sound track to another. A second reproducer head is used to pick up the control signals. A reversible driving means is used to drive the film relative to the reproducers. A clock device is included to control the reversible driving means and the shifting device, the clock starting the driving mechanism at predetermined times .of the day to cause a time announcement to be reproduced. The control signal is reproduced immediately after the announcement to .cause the circuit to the driving mechanism to be opened to thereby stop thejfiirn. The film is thus started under control of the ,clock an'd stopped immediately after each announcement. When all the time announcements in one sound track have been reproduced, the clock controls amechanisrn to shift the reproducer head to the next announcement sound track and to reverse the energizing leads to the driving motor. The'film is then driven in the reverse direction under control of the clock to cause reproduction of the announcements in the said next sound track, the control signals in the common control sound track stopping the film after each time announcement. An advertisement or commercial film is also employed to give commercials between each timeannouncement. The commercial film also has a plurality of parallel soundtracks'and-a common control soundtrack thereon, and a shiftablegreproducer head .for picking up the commercials and a-second reproducer head for picking up the control signals. The clock starts the commercial film and immediately after the commercial is reproduced the associated control signal causes the film to stop.

In the system disclosed in the cited patent, the circuits to the film driving motors were opened responsive toreproduced control signals and the film was allowed to coast to a stop. As the film and motor-acquire 'substantial momentumin their travel, allowingthe film and motor to coast to a stop under the influence offrictional lossesalone results in the film travelling a considerable and indeterminate distance. One new and novel improvement disclosed herein consisting of immediately braking the film to a stop by applying an energizing 'force to the motor for counteracting its momentum, after an announcement and thereby applya force to the film for halting it quickly rather than allow the 'filmto eoast to a stop. One of the benefits derived from-thisdnstant 2,776,341 Patented Jan. 1, 1957 stoppag of the film is a reduction in the length of the film needed to make a large number of separate announcements. Another benefit is a more positive point of stopping on the film rather than the more indefinite point .of stopping that results from allowing the film to coast to a stop since the distance of coasting would vary as the friction of the hearings on the idle rollers, etc, varied. With this improvement, it is possible to decrease the number of announcement sound tracks from six to .two by enabling the announcements to be placed closer together on the tape without the danger of reproducing part of an announcement at an inopportune time, the diameter of the reels remaining approximately the same, thus enabling a much narrower tape to be used. This also insures that each announcement is started at a definite time.

Another improvement is that two reproducer heads are used to pick up the time announcements one head jbeing permanently associated with each announcement sound track, rather than one shiftable head. The reproducing amplifier is switched from one to the other of the heads automatically under control of the clock.

Two new and novel supervisory features :have also been added to the system along with new and 'novel means for controlling the commercial or advertisement announcements.

One object of this invention is to provide ameans and method for instantly'and automatically stopping the -record medium immediately after each announcement.

Another object of the invention is :to provide a means and method for automatically shifting from one reproducer head associated with one announcement sound-track to another reproducer head associated with another announcement sound track.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means and method for automatically stoppingtherecord medium driving and take-up mechanism shouldthe recordxmedium break.

Another object of this invention is to provide a-means and method for supervising the time announcing system whereby an alarm is given if the record medium is running when it should not be running or is not running when it should be running.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel means and method for controlling a reproducer head so that the reproducer head may be manually-shifted "from one sound track to another or ittmayibe automatically shifted from sound track to sound track at predetermined periods. the commercial announcement mechanism.

This is shown in connection with One feature of the invention is the provision of novel means for braking the drivingelement of the-announcer to accomplish the positive stop thereof. In the present arrangement this is shown in connection with an announcing system of the type wherein-a record device has a large plurality of separate and individual announcements recorded thereon which are to be reproducedin succession and wherein the record is to be driven to reproduce a complete announcement and :then immediately stopped after each announcement, and consists of an alternating current electric motorof the induction type for driving the record, a source of alternating current, a line connecting thesource to the winding -ofrthe motor, a rectifier connected in the line between the :source and the winding for rectifying the-alternatingcur- :rent so that direct current is connected to *the winding,

:a bypass circuit which may be closed to by-pass the alter- 3 duced to thereby close direct current to the winding to brake the motor to a quick stop.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of the novel means for switching from one sound track to another. It is here illustrated in an announcing system of the type wherein a record device contains a plurality ofindividual and separate sound tracks thereon each contaiiiing a plurality of announcements each of which is to be reproduced at certain predetermined times, the announcements to be reproduced from each track in succession and the sound tracks to be reproduced in succession, and wherein a clock is provided to start driving the record at the predetermined times, and wherein a separate reproducer means is associated with each of said sound tracks, and wherein an amplifier is used for amplifying the announcements which is common to all of said reproducer means, and consists of a relay means con trolled by the clock for connecting one reproducer means to the amplifier at a time.

Anotherfeature of this invention is the provision, in a tape driving system of the type wherein the tape or film is taken up by a reel driven by a motor, the film being driven independently of the reel, of a governor associated with the reel motor, the governor being operated when the reel motor exceeds a certain speed to cause the energizing circuits to both the reel motor and the film driving motor to be opened.

Still anotherfeature of the invention is the provision, in an announcing system of the type wherein a record driving means is started by a clock and runs for a certain length of time, of a supervisory means controlled jointly by the clock and the driving means for checking to see that the driving means is running during the time period it should be running and is not running during other periods, and an alarm circuit for operation by the supervisory means during abnormal conditions.

These and other objects, features, uses and advantages of the invention can be easily perceived by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.

Figs. 1 and 2 show a circuit diagram of the time and commercial announcing system.

Fig. 3 shows a section of the film or tape employed in the system.

Figs. 4 and 5 show the governor device on the reel motors.

Fig. 6 shows how the induction type A. C. driving motors are connected to the A. C. source.

In order to hasten an understanding of the improvements contained herein, the elements shown in the above drawings which are similar in operation or function in the same manner as in the above mentioned patent have the same designation numbers with the addition of a prime following the number. The remaining elements are numbered without reference to the patent.

The record device employed in this embodiment of the invention, see Fig. 3, is a narrow iron oxide coated film 210' on which are located three parallel sound tracks. Two of these sound tracks 501' and 502' are announcement sound tracks and the third sound track 507' is a control sound track. Magnetically recorded -in each announcement sound track are a plurality of time is used to pick up the announcements recorded in the announcement sound track 501, a second reproducer head 208 is, used to pick up the announcements recorded in 4 the announcement sound track 502, and a third reproducer head 211' is used to pick up the tone signals such as 510' and 511'.

If the reproducer heads were mounted on the machine so that they were all in the same plane transverse to the film, the announcements and control signals would be located on the film as shown in Fig. 3. However, since the heads are spaced out along the film as shown in Fig. 1, the announcements and control signals are not recorded exactly in the positions relative to each other as shown in Fig. 3, but are recorded so that the control signals will be picked up immediately after an announcement from either announcement sound track.

The film driving means and take-up reels are shown in Fig. 1. The film 210 is carried by two film reels 200' and 201'. Each of the reels is constantly driven in a direction which tends always to take-up the film, by a motor which is of the type that does not heat up when it is stalled. Therefore, with the capstan motor 212' idle, the reels are being driven so that they tend to pull the film taut. The film is driven by capstan 209 which in turn is driven by motor 212'. Reversible capstan motor 212 determines in which direction the film will travel and the reel from which the film is taken ofi will turn in the direction opposite to that which its motor is tending to turn it. The capstan is a drum-shaped roller, the driving surface of which is composed of rubber or leather or other frictional material. The film is pressed tightly against the capstan by a roller and a compression spring 223. Idler rollers 202 to 206, inclusive, insure that the film 210' maintains the proper contact with the three reproducing heads. The reproducing head 211' is associated with the control sound track 507 of the film 210'. The reproducing head 207 is associated with sound track 501' and the reproducing head 208 is associated with announcement sound track 502. One or the other of the announcement reproducer heads is connected to the amplifier 190 at a time, the transferring from one to the other being controlled by the clock mechanism by means of relay 130. The capstan 209 is driven by reversible motor 212', the direction of driving capstan 209' and thereby film 210 dependent on whether or not relay 260 is operated or restored, relay 260 also being under control of the clock device.

The timer device shown in this embodiment is very similar to that shown in the cited patent with the exception that two so called six hour cams now take the place of six two hour cams and also that several new control cams have been added. The clock motor 100' drives shaft 101 at a speed of one revolution every twelve hours, shaft 102 at a speed of one revolution every hour, shaft 103' one revolution every minute, and shaft 104' at a speed of one revolution every 15 seconds. The drawing has been arranged to show that cam will close its cam springs at some period shortly before 12 oclock and earn 107 will close its cam springs at some period shortly before 6 oclock. The one hour cam 111 closes its cam springs every hour on the hour or shortly before the hour. The minute cam 112' closes its cam spring once every minute exactly on the minute. The fifteen second cam 113' is arranged to close its cam springs on about the eighth second of every fifteen second period. Fifteen second cam 114 is arranged so that it closes its cam springs once every fiften seconds exactly on the fifteenth second. Supervisory cam 105 is arranged to close its cam springs on about the eighth second and retains them closed until about the thirteenth or fourteenth second. Supervisory cam 106 is arranged to close its cam springs on about the first second and retain them closed until about the seventh second. Commercial start cam 109 closes its cam springs on the first second of every fifteen second period, and head shifting cam 108 closes its cam springs on about every thirteenth second. The masking cam 115' performs the same service as described in the cited patent, opening the trunk line during the periods'when the motor and relay circuits are being opened and closed.

The electrical energy used in driving the various components of this machine is derived from a commercial 60 cycle power line 285'. The D. C. voltage needed to operate the relays being obtained by the use of step down transformer 286' and rectifying means 287 in a well known manner. The synchronous motor 100 used in the timing device is connected directly to the power line 235' so as to be running continuously since the timer device serves as a clock.

Assuming that the machine is to start in operation at 12:00, either a. m. or p. m., since the time announcements in the a. m. are the same as those in the p. m., and .also assuming that the first '15 second time announcement and the subsequent announcements are recorded on the film in such a'manner that the proper running direction of the film 210' to cause reproduction of the announcements is from the reel 200' to the reel 201', the drawing has been arranged to depict the condition of the machine at a period shortly before 12:00. The 12:00 6-hour cam 110' has rotated to the position shown to cause the cam springs 121 to be closed. The hour cam 111 has rotated to the position shown to cause the cam springs 122' to close. The minute cam 112' is shown at a period shortly before the exact hour of 12:00.

To start the machine in operation, a non-locking pushbutton 293' is depressed, closing the circuit to relays 14.5 and 155. Relay 155 operates as does relay 145, relay 155 closing a holding circuit to itself and to relay 145 from ground through the serially connected throw-out governor contacts 215 and 216 by way of contacts 156. Relays 145 on operating closes one side of the power line to'the .two reel motors 213 and 214 by way of contacts 146 to energize the reel motors. Relay 155 also removes ground at contacts 158 from the trunk busy circuit and from the power failure alarm circuit 134.

At exactly 12:00, the minute cam 112' closes cam springs 123', thus closing the upper winding of relay 180'. Relay 1'80 operates and closes a holding circuit to its lower winding from ground at contacts 153 by way of contacts 181. Relay 130' is thus locked up under control of relay 15d and will remain operated until relay 150 operates at 6:00.

Since relay 180' is operated and relay 150' .is unoperated, relay 130 will be unoperated and the reproducer head 207 will be connected to the amplifier 190' by way of contacts 132. The reproducer head 207 is associated with the sound track on the film containing the 12:0015" announcement and the subsequent announcements.

Approximately eight seconds after cam 112' has caused the operation of relay 1%, cam springs 124' are closed by 15 second cam 113' closing ground to the upper winding of relay 280. Relay 230 operates and locks up through its lower winding from ground at contacts 297' by way of contacts 281. Relay 280' closes ground from contacts 157 by way of contacts 282 to relay 160. Relay 160 operates and at contacts 161 closes a by-pass circuit from the power line around the rectifier 127 and filter 123 to capstan motor 212 by way of contacts 262. The capstan motor 212 drives the capstan 209' in the direction necessary to take the film ofi reel 200', the 12:0015 time announcement being picked-up by reproducer head 2637, amplified by amplifier 190' and induced over the outgoing line to the trunk circuit to be heard by any subscriber that may be connected to the trunk. The announcement may be something like At the next tone signal the time will be twelve oclock and one quarter. immediately after this announcement, the

'control reproducer head 211 will encounter the recorded control signal in the control sound track and this signal 'will be amplified by amplifier 288', rectified by rectifier 289 and will operate D. C. relay 296'. Operation of Relay 280 restores and opens the circuit to relay 160 at contacts 282. Relay 1'60 restores and removes the by-pass circuit around the rectifier 127 and filter 128 contacts 161, thus placing the rectifier 1-27 and filter 12% directly in the alternating current path from the power source to the capstan motor 212. The alternating current is half-wave rectified by rectifier 127 and the half-wave output smoothed out by filter 128 to give direct current, this direct current being connected across the stator windings and causing the rotor to instantly stop, the film stopping immediately without coasting. Fig. 6 shows the stator windings of the induction type A. C. capstan motor 212' of a well known type connected to the cycle source through the rectifier 127. By-pass contacts 161 are also shown.

Exactly on the fifteenth second, cam 114 closes ground through cam springs to the oscillator circuit 191 to cause the tone signal to be placed on the trunk line. This tone is placed on the line under control on the timer device and not from the film as is the time announcement and therefore is as accurate relative to time as the time device.

Approximately 8 seconds after cam springs 125' have operated to cause the short audible tone to be placed on the trunk line, 15 seconds after cam springs 124' were first operated, cam 113 again closes cam springs 124' to close ground to the upper winding of relay 280. Relay 230 operates, locks up to ground at contacts 297' and closes relay at contacts 282. The cam springs 124 are held closed sufiiciently long to retain relay 280 operated until the film 210 has moved far enough to remove the control film from under control head 211. Relay 160 operates and closes contacts 161 to again bypass the alternating current around the rectifier 127 to the capstan motor 212. The film is driven to reproduce the second quarter-of-a-minute time announcement. Immediately after this second announcement has been made, the control head 211' encounters a second control signal which is amplified through amplifying means 288' and rectified by rectifying means 239' to operate relay 296 as before. Relay 25 6' opens relay 280' to thus cause relay 160 to restore and remove the by-pass around the rectifier 127 at contacts 161. The capstan 209 is immediately braked to a stop. The tone is again placed on the trunk line on the 30th second of the minute due to the k closing of cam springs 125 by cam 114. Thus it can be seen that a series of time announcements are made followed by the tone signals. At 6 oclock, relay 150' is operated by cam 107, opening relay which restores and closes a locking circuit to relay 150. Relay 150' also closes relays 260 and 130. Relay 260, at contacts 261, reverses the power leads to the capstan motor 212' to thus reverse its driving direction. Relay 130, at contacts 131, transfers the amplifier from reproducer head 207 to head 208.

Since the announcement starts on about the 8th second of every 15 second period there is available a period of about 8 seconds between announcements and this time is utilized, if desired, to make a commercial announcement. The commercial announcement record is a film or tape on which there are magnetically recorded in 6 parallel sound tracks six different commercials. The film is fixedly mounted on the rim of a drum, the drum being rotated by a motor 195'. A reproducer head 188 is used to reproduce the commercial announcements, the head being associated with one sound track at a time and shiftable from one track to another in a manner similar to that shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of the cited patent. The shifting mechanism is not shown in this disclosure. The sound tracks all run in the same direction on the film, the motor 195 never being reversed. 'The commercial announcement mechanism is so designed that it may be disabled at will so that no commercials are made between time announcements, or it may be arranged so that only one certain commercial is made after each time announcement or so that the six commercials will be made in succession, one after each time announcement, or the commercial recorder may be connected to any well known type of program-selecting clock to control the sequence of commercials in any way desired.

If it is desirable to disable the commercial announcement mechanism, the manually operated switch spring contacts are not closed so that the starting pulse never reaches relay 198.

If the six commercial announcements are wanted in successive order, one after each time announcement, manually operated switch contacts 185 and 169 are closed, these switch contacts remaining closed until manually opened when another commercial announcing scheme is desired. Cam 231 is used when successive commercial announcements are desired, there being six notches in cam 231, one for each sound track on the commercial film. Cam 231 is driven by motor 230 which also operates the head shifting device (not shown) in much the same manner as in Figs. 3 and 4 of the cited patent. Before the first second of every fifteen second period, cam 108 causes cam spring contacts 11.9 to close and operate relay 165. Relay 165 locks up to ground through cam spring contacts 241 and closes alternating current to A. C. motor 230 by way of contacts 167. Motor 230 turns, causing the reproducer head 188 to move transversely across the film 187. When the head 188 is associated with the first sound track it encounters in moving across the film, cam 231 will cause cam spring contacts 241 to open to cause relay 165 to restore. Relay 165 in restoring opens contacts 167, thereby placing the rectifier 164 in the current source to the motor 230, the D. C. on the motor 230 causing it to brake to a stop. On the first second of the fifteen second period, cam 109 closes cam spring contacts 120 to close ground through switch contacts 185 to the lower winding of relay 198'. Relay 198', at contacts 196, closes the alternating current from the power line through the motor 195. The drum is driven and the commercial announcement is picked up by an announcement head 188, and amplified by amplifier 199' and induced over the trunk line. A locking circuit is closed through cam springs 197 and through contacts 199 to the upper winding of relay 198. Relay 198' is thus held operated until the end of the advertisement announcement at which time a small raised portion 186 on the drum causes cam springs 197 to open to restore relay 198. The by-pass circuit around the recti er 183 is opened at contacts 196, the D. C. output of the rectifier 183 braking the motor to a stop.

Shortly before the first second of the next fifteen second period, relay 165 is again operated and causes the motor 231) to turn and move the head 183 to the next adjacent commercial sound track at which time cam 231 causes relay 165 to restore and stop the motor 230. The commercial in this next sound track is reproduced when relay 198' is operated. Thus it can be seen that the commercial announcements are reproduced in succession, one after each time announcement.

If only one certain commercial is desired between time announcements, switch contacts 169 are opened and left open. Contacts 163 are closed to operate relay 165 and thus motor 230, and they are held closed until the head 188 is associated with the desired commercial sound track, at which time contacts 163 are opened, relay 165 restoring when the head 188' is centered on the selected commercial sound track by action of cam 231. Relay 165 will not operate to shift the head 188 after every commercial announcement since contacts 169 are open, and relay 198 will be operated by cam 199 on the first second of every fifteen second period to cause the one commercial to be given.

If a program clock is to be used to control the sequence of commercials in any way desired, then switch spring contacts 169 are opened, earn 231 and cam spring contacts 241 are disabled and earns 232 to 237, inclusive, are employed. Cams 232 to 237, inclusive, each represent a different one of the six sound tracks on film 187'. When a particular commercial is wanted at a certain predetermined time to be reproduced over a certain predetermined time length, the program clock, shortly before the particular commercial is to be given the first time, closes relay 165 to cause the motor 230 to shift the head 188. When head 188' is associated with the particular commercial sound track desired, its associated cam (in the group 232 to 237) closes ground to the program clock to cause it to open the circuit to relay 165 to stop motor 230. At the first second of every fifteen second period, relay 198' operates to cause the particular commercial to be reproduced. The one particular commercial is given until another is selected by the program clock.

As noted above, the film 210 is driven by a capstan 209' and reversible capstan motor 212, while the reels 20a and 201' are both constantly driven in a direction which tends to take-up the film, one always being driven in a counter-clockwise direction and the other in a clockwise direction. Thus, depending on which direction the film is being driven by capstan 209', one or the other reel motor will actually be turning in a direction reverse to that in which the electrical power is tending to turn it. The reel motors are designed so that they do not heat up when stalled and no trouble results in operating them thusly. Also, the actual rated speed of the reel motors is high, in this embodiment about 1750 R. P. M., so that the film may be rewound quickly, and, should the tape break, the reels would rotate at high speeds, whipping the broken ends of the tape and possibly destroying parts thereof. Or, if the tape broke near the reel taking up the tape, the capstan would continue to pull the tape off the supplying reel and the tape, not being taken-up by the other reel, would flow down to the floor or into the moving parts of the machine. To prevent this, a governor device has been constructed to disable the reel motors of the machine (but not the clock motor) by bringing them to a complete stop should either of the reel motors exceed a certain speed above the normal rewind speed. The motors would remain stopped and an alarm given until the machine is again started manually. The governor device is shown in Figs. 4 and S on reel motor 213, a similar device also being placed on reel motor 214. On the shaft 217 of the motor 213 is fixedly secured a plate 218. Slidably fitted over the shaft is a disc 221 to which is fixedly attached a square piece of metal having small lips 224 extending therefrom in each corner thereof. The lips 224 are folded over one end of each of a pair of rectangular wire frames 220, the other ends of the rectangular wire frames each extending through a center hole in one of the two rollers 219. The rollers 219 are rotatably mounted on the ends of the wire frames 220. The rollers 219 are slipped over the plate 218 and a compression spring 222 forces the disc 221 away from the plate 218, drawing the rollers 219 toward each other. Figs. 4 and 5 show the governor mechanism as it is when the shaft 217 is rotating slowly. If the tape should break, the motor 213 would speed up and as it does so the two rollers 219 are forced outward by centrifugal force, the rollers rolling along the surface of plate 218. Outward movement of the rollers draws the disc 221 along the shaft 217 toward the plate 218 against the force of the spring 222, and when a certain excessive speed is reached, the disc 221 causes spring contacts 215 to open. As seen in Fig. 1, if either governor controlled spring contacts 215 or 216 are opened, the locking circuit to relay and is opened, relays 145 and 155 restoring to open the driving circuit to the reel motors and also opening the circuit to relay 160. Relay restores and opens the driving circuit to the capstan motor 212. The capstan and reel motors will not be driven until the manually operated switch contacts 293' are closed. Release of relay 155 also closes, at contact 157, an alarm 134 to draw attention to the machine.

A new and novel supervisory means is shown for checking to see that the time announcing tape is running in semen accordance with time. Cams 105 and 106 are, provided for the purpose. During the period from about the eighth second to the fourteenth second of every fifteen second period, when the capstan motor is supposed to be running, cam 105 closes its cam spring contacts 116 and during the time that motor 212 is not supposed to be running, cam 186 closes its cam springs 117. Relay 135 in series with rectifier 138 is connected across the capstan motor 212. and when the circuit is closed to start the motor 212" at contacts 161, relay 135 is also operated. Relay 135 is operated as long as there is alternating current flowing to the windings of the motor 212'. If, the capstan motor i running during the period it should not be running, then relay 135- will be operated and cam springs 117 closed, a circuit then being closed to operated relay 140. Also, if capstan motor 212 is not running during a. period it should be running, relay 135 will be restored and cam springs 116 will be closed, and the. circuit will be closed to relay 1,40. In either case, relay 140 will operate and will lock up. its lower winding to. a manual reset key. Relay 140, at contacts 142, closes an alarm circuit to show that the machine is not running, in proper sequence.

Numerous uses and adaptations of this invention will occur to those versed in the art and all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

What is claimed is:

1. In an. announcing system of the class wherein the announcements are recorded on a record medium in successive order and wherein a driving means is employed to drive the record medium to thereby cause reproduction of the. announcements and wherein a timer device is employed tocause conditioning of the driving means to drive the: second. medium only during certain predetermined periods of time and wherein the driving means. is conditioned during other predetermined periods of time to halt, the record medium, the improvement comprising supervisory means operated by said timer device only during thecertain predetermined periods when said driving means should be driving the record medium, other means operated when said driving means is driving the record medium. and unope-ratedwhen said driving means is conditioned to halt the record medium, and an alarm circuit completed if said supervisory means is unoperated' and said last means is operated or when said supervisory means isoperated and said last means is unoperated.

2. In a time announcing system, a record device, a sound track on said. record device having recorded therein a plurality of time-of-day announcements, a rep-reducer means for reproducing said announcements, a driving means for causingrelative movement between said record device and said reproducing means tocause reproduction of said announcements, a timer device for automatically causing conditioning of said driving means at certainpr-edetermined times of the day for causing relative movement between said record device and said reproducing means, meansoperated after'reproduction of each announcement for conditioning said driving means to terminate relative motion between said record device and said reproducing means, the improvement comprising.- a relay associated with said driving means and operated during all periods when said. driving means causes said relative motion, supervisory means controlled by said timer device and operated during-a-part-of the-time that the drivingimeans shouldbe causingsaid-relative motion and an alarmrcircuit cl osedioniy when both saidsupervisory means is operated and said relay is unoperated' to thereby give, an alarm should there be a failure to cause said relative motion during; anyof'said certain predetermined times.

3. In: an announcing system of the class wherein the announcements are recordedona record'medium insuccessiveorder and wherein a' driving means is employed to drive the record medium to'thereby cause rep-roduction'of theann-ouncementsandwhereina clock device is employed to cause conditioning of the driving means only dmtn eerta-in predetermined periods of time to drive said record medium and wherein the driving means is conditioned during other predetermined periods of time to halt'said record medium, the improvement comprising first supervisory means operated by said clock device only during the certain predetermined periods of time, second supervisory means operated by said clock device only during the certain predet-ermined' periods of time, means associated with said driving means operated when said driving means is conditioned for driving said record medium and unoperated when said driving means is conditioned for halting said record medium, and an alarm circuit controlled by both said supervisory means and said last means so as to be closed if said driving means is driving said record medium during a period it should be halting said record medium or if said driving means is halting said record medium during a period it should be driving said record medium.

4. In an announcing system having a recording medium with control signals and time announcements recorded therein and moved by a motor in engagement therewith whichis operated over a connection to a source of alternating current, the improvement comprising a reproducing head associated with said recording medium for reproducing said control signals and said time announcements, a rectifying means, means operated by each. of said reproduced control signals after a corresponding time an-- nouncement is reproduced for inserting said rectifying means in said connection to thereby apply direct current to said. motor and brake said motor and said medium en-- gaged therewith to a halt bet-ore a succeeding time announcementis reproduced, and means opera-ted after each braking for removing said rectifying means from said connection. to thereby operate said motor to move said me-- dium and reproduce a succeeding time announcement.

5. In an announcing system having a recording medium: with signals recorded therein and moved by a motor whichis operated over a connection to a source of current, a re-- producing head associated with said recording medium; for reproducing said signals, means operated by said re-- produced signals for thereafter rendering said connection ineffective and for opposing the movement of said motor to thereby brake, said motor and said medium to a halt: for preventing travel thereof and further reproduction, and means operated after each braking for rendering said last means ineiiectiveto thereby cause operation of said motor and movement of said medium.

6. Ina system such as claimed inclaim 5, control means operated when said record medium is moved and unoperated when said record medium is halted, other means operated at predetermined times corresponding to the reproductionof said signals and unoperated at other times, and an. alarm circuit completed jointly by said control means and said other means if said control means is operated at said other times or is unoperated at said predeterminedrtimes.

7. In a: system such as claimed in claim 6, a governor device associated with said record medium, and means operated by said governor device if said medium is moved at a predeterminedrate for operating said means for braking-said motor and medium to a halt to thereby cause saidcontrol means and said other means to operate said alarmaci'rcuit.

8. In an announcing system ofthe class having a record with several pluralities of separate recordings associated with a reproducing means, the combination comprising a driving. means for moving said record relative to said reproducing means to causereproduction of said recordings, a timer devicefor operating said driving means at predetermined times to move said record, means associated with said reproducing means and controlled by one plurality of recordings in said record tocause said driving means to-halt said record at other predetermined times to thereby establish a sequence of movement and non-movement" of said record, meansconditioned in accordance withthe r 11 movement and non-movement of said record, and an alarm operated by said last means if conditioned in accordance with the non-movement of said record and said record is being moved and operated if said last means is conditioned in accordance with the movement of said record and said record is not being moved.

9. In an announcing system having a source of alternating current and means for rectifying said current to provide direct current and including a record device containing a plurality of separate recordings thereon representing announcements, a combination for permitting the reduction of the distance between said separate recordings on said device comprising a driving means adapted to be connected to and operated by said source of alternating current for driving said record device to cause reproduction of said recordings, means for connecting said source of alternating current to said driving means for operating said means to cause reproduction of said recordings, braking means for inserting said rectifying means between said source of alternating current and said driving means to provide direct current to said driving means to stop said driving means and halt said record device, and means for automatically operating said braking means after reproduction of each separate recording for enabling successive ones of said separate recordings to be spaced in close proximity for reproduction.

10. In an announcing system having a source of alternating current and means for rectifying said current to provide direct current and including a record device containing a plurality of separate recordings thereon, a combination for permitting a reduction of the distance between said separate recordings on said device comprising a driving means adapted to be connected to and operated by said alternating current for driving said record device to cause reproduction of said recordings, means for conmeeting said alternating current source to said driving means to start operation thereof, means for inserting said rectifying means between said alternating current source and said driving means to provide direct current to said driving means for automatically braking said driving means to a stop, and means automatically operated after reproduction of each separate recording for operating said last means for disabling said driving means and for enabling said braking means to thereby quickly stop said driving means to thereby permit a reduction in the distance between successive ones of said separate recordings.

11. In an announcing system having a source of alternating current and means for rectifying said current to provide direct current and including a film with a plurality of parallel sound tracks one of which is an announcement sound track having a plurality of separate announcements recorded therein and another of which is a control sound track having a plurality of control signals recorded therein, reproducing means associated with said film for reproducing said announcements and control signals, the announcements being reproduced in succession from said sound tracks, driving means for causing relative movement between said film and said reproducing means to cause reproduction of said announcements and control signals, operating means for connecting said alternating current source to said driving means for operating said driving means to thereby cause relative motion between said film and said reproducing means, a clock device operated to automatically operate said operating means at predetermined times to operate said driving means for causing reproduction of said announcements and control signals, the improvement comprising a last means for automatically connecting said rectifying means between said driving means and said source of alternating current for providing direct current to said driving means to thereby brake said driving means to a stop and thereby prevent reproduction of said announcements and control signals, and means operated in response to the reproduction of said control signals for disabling said operating means and for operating said last means to provide said direct current to stop said driving means.

12. In an announcing system, a combination for permitting the reproduction of a large plurality of separate recordings for a unit length of record device comprising an induction type alternating current motor for driving said record device to cause reproduction of separate recordings thereon, an operating circuit for closing alternating current to the winding of said motor, switching means operated to close said operating circuit to thereby cause said motor to drive said record device, means automatically operated after reproduction of each recording for closing direct current to the winding of said motor to quickly brake said driving means to a stop to prevent further travel of said record device, and means for automatically operating said switching means a predetermined time after each stopping of said driving means for disconnecting said direct current and for closing said operating circuit to provide alternating current to thereby initiate operation of said motor for causing further reproduction of said recordings.

13. In an announcing system, a combination for permitting the reproduction of a large plurality of separate recorded announcements for a unit length of recording film comprising reproducing means associated with said film for reproducing said announcements, the announcements being reproduced in succession, an induction type alternating current motor including driving means for causing relative movement between said film and said reproducing means to cause reproduction of said announcements, a clock device operated to automatically close alternating current to the winding of said motor to thereby start said driving means at predetermined times, and means operated under control of said film after the reproduction of each separate announcement for disconnecting alternating current from and for connecting direct current to the winding of said motor to thereby brake said driving means to a quick stop to prevent travel of said film between each separate announcement.

14. In an announcing system, a combination for permiting the reproduction of a large plurality of separate recordings for a unit length of record device comprising a driving means for driving said record device to cause reproduction of said recordings, said driving means including an induction type alternating current motor having a winding therefor, a source of alternating current, a circuit connecting said source of alternating current to said winding, a rectifier connected in said circuit between said source and said winding, circuit means connected to said circuit and operated at times to short circuit said rectifier and thereby by-pass the alternating current around said rectifier to said winding to cause said motor to operate for driving said record device, and means controlled by said record device and operated after reproduction of each separate recording for opening said circuit means to thereby remove the short circuit on said rectifier and replace the alternating current connected to the winding with direct current to instantly brake said motor to prevent travel of said record between separate recordings to thus enable the reproduction of a large plurality of separate recordings for a unit length of record device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,227,523 Blessing May 22, 1917 1,936,700 Wells Nov. 28, 1933 2,213,631 Heller Sept. 3, 1940 2,297,187 Johnson Sept. 29, 1942 2,306,614 Clausen Dec. 29, 1942 2,396,409 Berzer Mar. 12, 1946 2,468,198 Heller Apr. 26, 1949 2,488,482 Swarthout Nov. 15, 1949 2,514,578 Heller July 10, 1950 2,530,076 Peterson Nov. 14, 1950 2,558,853 Koppeler July 3, 1951 2,611,037 Napoli Sept. 16, 1952 2,641,654 Ofiutt June 9, 1953 

